Have you ever wondered what it would be like to completely restore an old abandoned home? Well that's exactly what this sassy little southern woman is doing with a late 1800's Louisiana dog-trot. Follow along as I renovate my family's beloved historic home on a shoestring budget. Restoring a piece of American history doesn't have to be expensive, so long as you aren't afraid to use a little elbow grease.
Wanna get in touch with me? Email jacs(dot)lewis(at)yahoo (dot)com.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Vera Taylor Oden's Memoir (SECTION XVI)

This posting contains section sixteen of twenty-one sections that describe life in Sugar Creek, Louisiana prior to 1902. If you haven't read the post about the significance of VERA TAYLOR ODEN's memoir, click here.

Another big occasion was my first trip to Shreveport a few years later. (After the Chatauqua.) As before, we drove to Arcadia and took the train. Anniebel went with us as she often did, when we took trips. We arrived at night and went to the Henderson boarding house near the depot, which had been recommended to us. The occasion for this visit was a street fair or carnival which was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. Two or three blocks of Milam Street were set off for the amusements. It must have been something like the gladway at the fair. The place was brilliant with electric lights which I had never seen before. I saw a lady hypnotized, dressed in a long white robe, who flew. She rose from the floor, and the man passed a hoop around her to show there were no wires. The first time I ever talked on a phone was this trip.

We also took in some of the stores. It was a never to be forgotten experience. Another memorable trip we took by train was to a circus at Monroe, another memorable experience. Another time we drove to Arcadia to see a home talent play "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Mrs. Barnette who then was Miss. Eula Yarbrough, was the tiny, blond "Snow White." Ray tells me that he was one of the dwarfs, so that must have been the first time I saw him.

Can you imagine seeing electric lights for the first time, and also seeing a woman fly, too? What an exciting night it must have been for Mrs. Vera! Maybe she came face to face with the Victorian-era magician Harry Keller that night. What an exiting time to live. Mrs. Vera really did live to see many of the modern innovations (that we take for granted today) come into popularity.

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The House at Sugar Creek

Here is our pre-renovation photo of our darling dog-trot before we begin the restoration process. Feel free to watch us transform her back to her original glory. These gorgeous old homes are disappearing at an alarming rate, and we hope to inspire you to take on a similar project of your own!

Would you consider beginning a project like this one?

What a view!

Few things in life are as relaxing as a lazy summer evening spent on a front porch listening to the whipporwhil call and the crickets chirp. The view from this upstairs window gives you a peek into the beauty of nature that we will see every single day of our life at Sugar Creek.

Unique Features

What do we love about this home? It's unique features, of course! Here is a pre-restoration picture of the rounded celilings in the upstairs bedrooms. It's just one of the dozens of touches that made us fall in love with The House at Sugar Creek.

HISTORIC PHOTOS of THE HOUSE

We've just been given copies of old family photos taken at The House at Sugar Creek! Here is a tiny sampler of things to come... we'll post them and talk more about the history of the house very soon.

Coke Bottles from the Root Cellar

It's hard to imagine what life would have been like in the eras before air conditioning and refridgerators. Food was kept in root cellars, hidden away underground where temperatures were cooler and water did not evaporate in the mid-summer sun. Dog-trots were built into the center of homes as a way to filter the breeze. Our little dog-trot is an example of both breezeways and root cellars, and we were delighted to find the original jars of preserves and old bottles still hidden away beneath the ground. Here are a few tiny pieces of our home's history that we found tucked away in the root cellar.